You're My Hero
by ChibiVanellope
Summary: (AU. NOT kid-adult Jawbreaker) What if Fix-it-Felix Jr. was actually a game populated by children, like Sugar Rush? In this world, young Ralph is just plugged in. Unhappy with the way he's treated, he takes a walk in Game Central Station, getting shot out of a candy cannon and into a world of desserts- where he meets, and develops a crush on, the feisty Vanellope von Schweetz!
1. Introduction

_**First things first: I don't own the rights to Wreck it Ralph, no matter how much I want to! Disney**_ _**has that amazing privilege. **_

**Thanks**_** for reading, hope you enjoy it! :D This was inspired by a fanart I saw where Ralph and Vanellope are the same age. This story runs much like the original, but there are some big differences, e.g. Ralph's feelings for Vanellope. There are also some other things I'll be throwing in you wouldn't expect. . .like King Candy- oop! I'm keeping my mouth shut on that one.  
**_

* * *

Ralph slowly opened his eyes to see a sky full of stars.

Stars.

He didn't know how he knew that, but he just did.

Eager to see the world, the young boy leapt up in excitement! Now he could tell that he wasn't alone in space. Digging his toes in the grass beneath his feet, he chuckled at how good it felt. Running around, he began to look around at the woods surrounding him. It was beautiful.

_This is home,_ he thought.

A river flowed just a few feet away. Speeding over, Ralph looked down into it, seeing his reflection. Cautiously, he dipped a toe in the water, creating ripples in its mirror like surface. A huge grin formed on his face.

Beginning to splash around, his feet kicked up tiny puddles, and his hands threw beads of moisture up into the air like confetti, landing refreshingly on his face.

Then Ralph realized something. _Today is my birthday._

_It's my birthday today!_

Laughing with mirthful glee, he began looking around for someone to share this wonderful news with.

Ralph had to be about nine or ten, but right now he had the bare knowledge, and the eager excitement, of a toddler. Racing through the brush, he accidentally tripped and fell to the ground! Unfazed, the boy stood up, looking surprised at the large indentation his hand had made in the dirt.

Slowly, he lifted his hands into view, inspecting every detail curiously, from the fingers to the lines in his palms. _Why are my hands so freakishly big?_ he wondered.

Shrugging it off, Ralph decided to take a look around. After a bit of exploring, he was tuckered out. _I was just plugged in, after all!_ the little boy thought, curling up inside his stump to get a bit of sleep.

CRASH!  
BOOM!  
WHIRR!

"Wha? What's that?" he asked, surprised to see a giant yellow crane next to him. Before he could protest, the machine's hook attached itself to the stump he was sleeping in, promptly dumping him out! "Hey? What's the big idea?" Ralph groaned, still grumpy from lack of sleep and a bit shocked at the rudeness of whoever was working the crane.

Suddenly, realization ran through his veins. This was part of the game! Every day, this was what happened. His stump got moved so an apartment building could be put there.

Playing along with the code (and still a tad bit grumpy,) he lifted his fists without thinking. "I'M GONNA WRECK IT!" he exclaimed, rushing over to the skyscraper.

Unable to control it, the game took over as rage filled him. Smashing bricks and creaing rubble, the boy relentlessly scrapped the building with his gigantic fists. _So that's what they're for,_ he thought sadly. For the first time, Ralph realized what he was doing there, and what his job was.

Lying in the mud as the Mini-Nicelanders scowled down at him, Ralph murmured remorsefully,

_"I'm the Bad Guy."_


	2. Chapter One: Vanellope

The raven-haired little girl slowly opened her eyes.

She didn't know where she was- or who she was.

All she knew was that something was very wrong.

Blue flashed before her eyes as the world turned into a sea of 1's and 0's. Her perceptiveness of everything became incredibly clear, though she had no idea exactly where she was. She knew she was in the woods, beneath a peppermint tree. Before she could control it, like a beam of light, she felt herself move away from where she had just been- standing? sitting? floating?

It all happened in a second. Before she knew it, she landed face-first in a puddle of taffy! Throwing her back and forth, the out-of-control glitch ended up leaving her none worse for wear, but terrified all the same.

The frightened little girl stood in the middle of the forest, trying to catch her breath. Finally, she broke down and began to cry, curling up into a ball and burying her head in her hands. Teardrops fell, staining her tattered, raggedy pink dress.

A tag had very nearly been torn off her dress from the beating she'd taken. Gently pulling the final thread that attached it, which had trailed off so far it was hanging off the side of her dress, she slowly read the name on the tag. "Va-nellope." The rest was faded, all she could make out were the letters "P" and "s." She shrugged it off, thinking it was the name of the manufacturer.

"So, my name's Vanellope. That answers one question." She gasped. Vanellope didn't remember her voice sounding quite that scratchy. _Maybe I'm sick,_ she thought, growing a bit dizzy. _Maybe that's why I can't remember anything. _

The funny thing was, other than being a bit shaken up after what had happened, she felt fine. Just- really confused.

The sunshine breaking through the clouds made her feel a little bit better. A tiny smile crept across her face. Still shaking, the tiny girl took in its warmth and comfort, enjoying the way it made her feel. The sweet scents of lollipops, graham crackers and taffy filled her nose. She could hear music playing from far away, but somehow she was able to make out the words.

_"S-U-G-A-R, jump into your racing car, say Su-gar Rush! Su-gar Rush!"_

That was when Vanellope realized it. Sugar Rush was a game! An arcade game! And she was a part of it.

Maybe that weird blue stuff was part of her being born, she thought. But- for some reason she thought that wasn't what it should feel like, being plugged in. It bothered her, but she didn't want to think about it right now. Climbing up a hill of chocolate cake, Vanellope could see the racetrack not too far off.

Her hazel eyes widened as she watched the brightly colored karts speed down the road. One racer threw sweet seekers at another, who flew into a gigantic cupcake! Vanellope almost fell over laughing as the candle on the girl's head was immediately extinguished, much to her dismay! Clutching her stomach, Vanellope couldn't stop giggling as she watched the green-haired girl angrily pound her fists, then suddenly take a lick of the pink frosting!

Then Vanellope's attention returned to the racetrack.

"Wow," she breathed. The action excited her, filled her with a surge of adrenaline as she watched the story unfold. A pink-hatted girl won, to the applause of everyone. Vanellope joined in, though she knew no one could hear her. "Yay!" she cheered, clapping her hands.

Suddenly, she was filled with this unquenchable desire to be one of them. She was a citizen of Sugar Rush, wasn't she? It made perfect sense. She even felt, somehow, that this was what she was made for- that it was embedded inside of her code.

_I was made to race._

* * *

"Thour Bill, you're SURE you surveyed the area?" King Candy said with a nervous laugh, pacing back and forth in his castle. "Yes, sir," the green sphere intoned drolly, his usual look of apathy plastered onto his face. "There were no glitches to be found anywhere."

Taffyta Muttonfudge and her best friends, Rancis and Candlehead, were racing each other in the woods. "Taste _this!_" Taffyta laughed, throwing a Jelly Bomb at him. "Aaagh!" he moaned, his car swerving as he tried to wipe the sticky purple stuff off his face. "_I can't see **anything!**_"

Finally, he crashed into a tree not too far away. "How humiliating," he moaned, still wiping his cheek with a hanky. "Looks like Taffyta won this one," Candlehead said with a goofy grin as the two friends hit the brakes by the tree.

"You okay, Buttercup?" Taffyta asked in a saccharinely sweet voice, offering her hand. He pushed it away. "Oh, after you just embarrassed me, made me wreck my car AND ruined my personal image, I'm supposed to accept your help?"

His face twitched. Finally, he burst out laughing, as did everyone else.

At last, the laughter died down. "Oh, hi!" Candlehead said with a little wave. "Hey, we're standing right here," Rancis said in disbelief. "She's just being ditzy again," Taffyta whispered to him, waving it off and tossing her gal pal an overly friendly smile and a wave. She wasn't trying to control her- she just didn't want her to feel bad. After all, Candlehead was a fun friend to have around, even if she thought every day was her birthday.

However, both Taffyta and Rancis were in for a big surprise when they heard a little voice reply, "H-hello."

There, standing in front of them, was the saddest-looking little girl they had ever seen. _For once, Candlehead was spot on,_ Taffyta thought, staring in surprise. Rancis and Candlehead did the same, unable to say a word.

The girl had to be the same age as them, but her clothes! The dress she wore was a raggedy, threadbare faded pink. Her black hair tumbled messily down her shoulders, and her feet were bare.

"Gosh, did you get in a fight with a Candy-Unicorn or something?" Candlehead asked. Taffyta jabbed her in the elbow. "_Ow!_ Sorry." "N-no," the girl said softly, rubbing her toe in the dirt. "I don't know why I'm like this. I think something's wrong," she said, tears filling her eyes.

"Hey, I know who can help you!" Rancis said. "King Candy!"

Suddenly, Vanellope flickered and flashed bright blue, seeming to break into a million pieces!

The others shrank back in horror.

"You're a g-g-g-g" Candlehead began.

"GLITCH!" the other two yelled, climbing into their cars and driving away.

Tears filled the little girl's eyes as she choked out, "No, I-I'm Vanellope."

* * *

"Ralph!" A familiar voice called. Doing his best to be friendly, the pint-sized wrecker stumped over to where Felix was. "Hey Felix." There was an awkward silence. The guy was trying his best to be nice, Ralph thought, but sheesh, why did he have to be so reserved around him? This was just his job! It wasn't like he WANTED to upset anybody.

"I just wanted to tell ya, that was a great day of gaming!" Felix smiled amiably, offering a hand to shake. Ralph did his best to smile back, taking it. "Thanks." There was another awkward pause. Ralph scratched the back of his head, while Felix just stood there stiffly, not sure what to say. Finally, he cleared his throat.

"So- how does it feel? Being just plugged in and all, I mean," Felix asked. Ralph didn't know how to answer that. He just shrugged and smiled. "Okay, I guess," the auburn-haired boy said quickly, ready to change the subject.

But one thing Felix didn't have as much of, was tact.

"It's just so exciting, being my first day and everything," Felix said, about to bubble over. "And look!"

The freckle-faced boy held out the shining golden hammer in his hand. Ralph had to admit, it was impressive. But in his mind, he ALSO had to admit he was a little more than jealous. After all, Felix got to fix everything, and won the medals every time! What did he get? A good helping of mud, right in the face.

"Dad gave it to me," the boy said, suddenly a little bit sad. Ralph knew why.

Your past was programmed.

The people who you remembered didn't always actually exist.


	3. Chapter 2: The Misadventures Begin

Vanellope stared after the departing racers, tears filling her green-brown eyes as she watched them disappear in a cloud of dust. Taking a deep breath, the young girl wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Looking at the tattered, threadbare dress that had seen much better days, Vanellope realized she'd need something a lot better than this to wear, if she was going to the castle! Then she noticed something.

When one of the racers had driven away, he'd left a peanut butter cup wrapper lying on the ground. She giggled despite herself. _How many of those can he eat?_ she wondered. Then Vanellope remembered- they were in a game made of candy! Tummyaches were impossible! A bit more cheery than before, she picked up the wrapper, studying it curiously as an idea formed in her mind.

When you turned it upside down, it looked an awful lot. . .like a skirt! Smiling as she realized what she'd discovered, Vanellope ran over to the Junkyard, rummaging through the dumpster filled with crumbling cookies, stale candy and old car parts, as well as an assortment of various objects racers had thrown away. Noticing something green, white and brown sticking out of the dumpster, she pulled it out- it was a pair of candy striped tights! But what would she wear on top? Then a couple of girls walked by. Hiding behind a peppermint tree so they wouldn't see her, Vanellope listened in on their conversation.

"Did you see Crumbelina's new gingerbread house?" the blonde asked the brunette. "She finally got an upgrade?!" the cotton-candy themed racer asked excitedly. Her short brown curls bounced on her shoulders as she practically danced through the forest! "Yep," the other girl nodded. . "I wonder when I'LL get a bigger house," the brunette mused, taking a lick of a nearby lollipop. Vanellope giggled. The two girls' heads whirled around. Luckily, Vanellope was hiding behind a tree, so no one saw her. . . Just then, a sunbeam beat down, making the two girls squint. "Ouch! I can't see!" the blonde exclaimed, adjusting her chocolate chip cookie hat to shade her vision.

"It's so HOT," the girl with the cotton candy hat moaned. "I'm going to MELT!" Taking off her green hooded sweatshirt, she set it down on a nearby bush. "I think I'll leave this here." "Don't you need it?!" the other asked. "_Nah_, it'll regenerate tomorrow anyway," the lighthearted racer said with a smile, the kawaii cotton candy on her pink tee shirt grinning as widely as she was. "Someone else can have it if they want it." Vanellope jumped at the opportunity. As soon as they were gone, she grabbed the hooded sweatshirt, hugging it to herself.

Going into a hollow tree, Vanellope changed into her new outfit. She was still a bit sad, but looking into the shard of sugar glass inside the tree, she liked the way she looked. Striped tights, two-layered brown skirt, and warm sweatshirt. Vanellope wouldn't be cold in that raggedy old dress anymore! Tossing it aside, she decided to- _gulp!_ make her way toward the castle. She blinked nervously. Blue pixilated flashes were a dead giveaway as she tumbled into the Brambleberry patch. \

Scrambling to get out, the thorns threatened to rip her clothing and scratched her skin as she finally escaped, making a dash away from the main road so no one saw her. Then, with little other choice, Vanellope began to head toward the towering palace, though the growing feeling of tension in her stomach and her intuition warned her not to.

Where else could she go?

* * *

Stumping through Game Central Station, Ralph felt the uncomfortable awkwardness of being avoided. Sure, he was just a kid- average size as kids go, just a bit on the big side- but those hands of his seemed, well, pretty scary to a lot of people! Some Bad Guys took the time to be "friendly," but this was usually no more than a hello, a grunt, or at best an awkward, or very painful, pat on the back. Almost everyone was afraid of Ralph, and it made him feel down. He didn't even notice at first when someone tried to get his attention. . .

"Hey, hammer hands!" Finally, he turned. "Me?" he asked, not quite believing. The girl nodded, smiling wryly. "Who else would I be talking to? Donkey Kong?" she said with a laugh. The girl had to be about his age, with titanium-blonde hair not far below the nape of her neck, a black newsboy hat with- was that frosting running around the center? She wore a black tee shirt with a chocolate-colored jacket, worn brown jeans and red sneakers that had seen better days. "I've been waiting all day for someone to test out the Candy Cannon!"

Standing beside her was a gigantic cannon, decked out in bright colors. It looked fun- and a bit dangerous! "See, Sugar Rush's 2nd anniversary is today, and the King wanted me to test the cannon for the fireworks before we shoot them off." "You want ME- to get in THAT thing?!" Ralph asked in bewilderment. "You're not SCARED, are you?" she teased. "Naw! I just. . .don't want to get thrown off into space and not regenerate!" he blurted. "Pshht, it's perfectly safe! Get in, get in!" she urged. "Aw, ok," he moaned, climbing reluctantly inside.

"All right, the kitten whispers and tickle fights end now. It's make your mama proud time!" she proclaimed, lighting a match. "I love my mam-AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"  
Screaming, Ralph flew through the air, bouncing around Game Central Station. . .and straight into Sugar Rush! Tammie C. Hoarhound grimaced as she watched. "Oops," she said with a sheepish grin. "_Oops_ is right," Surge Protector said, appearing beside her. "You're operating a cannon without a license."


	4. Chapter 3: Sugar Rush

_**Hey, shout out to all you Wrecklings! Thanks so much for the Reviews, Likes and Favorites! I really appreciate it! : You guys rock. Sorry it's been so long, I've been busy with school and getting my life back on track again. . .(college research papers STINK by the way.) **_

_**I know the chapters have been short, but I'll try to make this one a bit longer. Hang in there with me, Vanellope starts out pretty vulnerable and scared but Ralph will help her channel her inner sass eventually, don't worry. ;) She gets tougher, but for now, here's some damsel-in-distress fluff. :3 Hope you like the chapter, please keep reading and reviewing!**_

* * *

**_"BAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"_**

Flying through the air as he crashed through the door of Sugar Rush, Ralph screamed as the G-force took over his face and his cheeks gracefully flapped in the wind. Things didn't get any better from this point. One moment he was flying through the- green sky?- the next minute he zipped through a pink blur. He faintly tasted cotton candy. Yuck. When his vision cleared, he began to plummet toward the ground at what seemed like warp speed. . ."This-this is it! This is the end!" he started yelling as he watched the candy-coated ground grow closer and closer. "_**I LOVE YOU, MAMA!**_" he yelled. Shutting his eyes, he braced himself for the impact.

All he felt was a gentle plop and something soft and fluffy covering his face. Slowly getting up, Ralph slapped himself. "No. . .way."

He was standing on a giant slice of cake!

Covered in frosting!

"Bleah, chocolate, I HATE chocolate!" he exclaimed, abruptly wiping his face on his sleeve. Climbing a peppermint tree to get a better view, his ears perked up to hear girl-poppy, electronic-sounding music in a language he didn't understand, except for two words. Looking out over the lake, from which the game's title was carved out of candy reeds, he grimaced as he read aloud,

"_Sugar_ Rush."

Suddenly, the branch he was sitting on beeped and blinked, disappearing completely in a flash of white light and random pixels! "YAAAH!" Ralph cried as he fell from the tree . . .straight into the taffy swamp. Struggling and spluttering, the young boy was more surprised by what happened next than anything else that day: in a blue flash of pixels, he felt himself disassemble and come back together, being lifted by- was it somebody's hand?- onto safe ground. Then, as the blue glow cleared, he started in surprise. A jolt of electricity very unlike the blue pixels that had overtaken him just moments ago suddenly ran through every pixel in his body.

It was a girl.

And something about her made him unable to speak, think or even move for a second.

"Oh, my goodness, are you okay?" she asked, frantically shaking him. "Lay off the panic attack, kid, I'm fine," he said in a surly voice as he shook the goo off, but he couldn't keep a smile from twitching at the corner of his mouth. Then he gave her a genuine grin, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "Hey, thanks for saving me. . .uh. . ."

"Vanellope," she said a bit timidly as she ran a hand through her long black hair. Then she added, with a confused look, "You're not from here, are you?" "Uh, no- no, I'm from another game," he said, rubbing one toe along the ground. "What's your name?" "Ralph- _Wreck_ it Ralph," he said, shyly extending his hand. "Vanellope. _Vanellope_ von Schweetz," the girl returned, a bit playfully. Then a big grin spread across her face. "I remembered," she said. "What?" Ralph asked, confused. Elated, the long-haired girl whispered under her breath, "I remembered my full name."

As the wind blew through her hair, sending the fragrance of strawberry licorice toward his nose, the little boy's knees began to knock a bit, and his breath came and went faster than it had before. His hands began to feel clammy, but his face was on fire. Then something struck him.

"Wait- you didn't know your whole NAME before?" She shook her head slowly, her hazel eyes filling with tears. "Hey- hey, don't cry," Ralph said as he tried to calm her down. "I'm not upset at you, I'm just, well, I guess, a bit worried. . .were you just plugged in?" She nodded. "Well, you should remember pretty soon! Don't worry!" he said encouragingly, giving her a gentle, shy pat on the back. "I'm going to the castle to see the King...he'll know what's wrong," she said determinedly. But the young boy still detected a bit of a wobble in her voice. "Hey. . .you shouldn't have to go- (he cleared his throat, then said quietly) all by yourself. . ."

"You'd- go with me?" she asked disbelievingly. "Sure, kid, nobody should have to go it alone. Especially you." He paused, not sure what to say. Finally, he added, "You. . . you've got a- glitching problem. . .don't you?" He could tell saying the word _glitch_ hurt her. "Everybody's afraid of me, and I don't know why- I was just born yesterday!" she exclaimed. Quickly, Ralph said, "Well, new racers ARE added to the game sometimes when it upgrades, maybe you're one of em'," with a wink and a grin. "Just give them time to warm up to you. That's a pretty cool power, when you think about it." Vanellope's mouth stayed shut, and Ralph couldn't tell whether she was about to say something or start crying. Then, out of the blue, the announcer shouted,

"Attention, the arcade will open in five minutes."

Vanellope looked over at Ralph, unsure of what to do. Then, starting in surprise, she gasped a little as he took her hand. "But. . .your game!" she exclaimed. "I'm not leavin' you here alone," he said abruptly, but she detected something gentle in his voice. "O-okay, t-thanks," she said, with a tiny smile.


End file.
